This invention relates to an electroless nickel plating activator particularly for use on ceramic capacitor bodies as terminations, and more particularly to such an activator based upon palladium.
Ceramic or glass products to be electroless plated generally require a surface activation treatment prior to introduction into the plating bath. A typical activation consists of immersion into solutions of tin and palladium chlorides.
A serious limitation of this technique is that the plated films often have insufficient adhesion to the base material, necessitating additional steps such as etching, sandblasting, or the like, to roughen the surface and allow mechanical interlocking. Additionally, it is often desired to plate only part of an article, requiring masking from the roughening process, activator, or plating solution or all three. In the case of disc ceramic capacitors, a common practice is to plate the entire body, and then employ grinding to remove plating from the areas where it is unwanted.
It is an object of this invention to provide an activator for an electroless nickel plating on ceramic and glass bodies that bond well and make intimate electrical contact thereto.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an effective low cost method for selectively activating a ceramic capacitor body for a subsequent electroless nickel termination plating.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a low cost ceramic capacitor having electroless plated terminations making intimate electrical contact and strong physical contact with the ceramic body.